EDITORIAL
Heal
thyself
Two tell-tale photographs
of district hospitals in Poonch and Kathua have appeared
in the last Sunday magazine of this newspaper. One
building continues to be in a dilapidated condition even
today. This is long after the October 8, 2005 earthquake
that had ravaged it has come and gone. The other
structure is in the midst of construction. These pictures
speak for themselves --- "healthcare in a
shambles" and "completely incomplete". The
accompanying article sums up in detail the state of main
hospitals in all districts on this side of the Pir
Panjal. There is a distinct lack of facilities all over.
Problems are endemic in the form of ill-equipped
arrangements, dysfunctional equipment and shortage of
necessary staff. The same is the plight of three
emergency hospitals on the Jammu-Srinagar national
highway at Batote, Ramban and Banihal. One can't be
faulted for ..more
Kill
rumours
It is ironical that
correct information is always thin following a major
disturbance --- natural or otherwise. Rumours tend to
take over as a matter of routine. Mumbai serial blasts
are the latest example. Telephone calls and e-mails have
floated around without providing exact clue about the
identity of killers. During the earlier stages of
Srinagar's sex scandal tongues wagged throwing up saucy
but mostly unsubstantiated details. The carelessly thrown
utterances have resulted in wrong reports being
recklessly published ........more
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It
takes two to tango
Men, Matters, Memories
By M L Kotru
It's time
someone reminded Gen Pervez Musharraf, the military ruler
of Pakistan, that the bilateral peace process is not a
Kashmiri papier mache doll to be gift wrapped and handed
over to him by whoever is at the helm of affairs in New
Delhi. It's a two-way process wherein the two parties
have to work hard and in good faith if the ..more
British
Asians
‘desis’ or what
By Atul Cowshish
A
Government-aided survey in Britain says that British
Indians do not want to be known by the omnibus moniker of
‘Asians’, preferring one of the three options:
British Indians, Hindus, or simply ‘desis’
which designates their Indian origin. After all, the
Chinese in Britain, also part of the Asian community, .......more
A
Voyage to Sri Harikota
By H R Sudhindra
The road to
Sriharikota (SHAR), across Pulicat lake takes us to the
launch pad of Indian Space technology. It transports us
from a familiar world to a world familiar with rockets
and satellites. It drives us into the mesmeric island of
launch pads, vehicle assembly buildings, space vehicle . ....more
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EDITORIAL
Heal thyself
Two tell-tale photographs
of district hospitals in Poonch and Kathua have appeared
in the last Sunday magazine of this newspaper. One
building continues to be in a dilapidated condition even
today. This is long after the October 8, 2005 earthquake
that had ravaged it has come and gone. The other
structure is in the midst of construction. These pictures
speak for themselves --- "healthcare in a
shambles" and "completely incomplete". The
accompanying article sums up in detail the state of main
hospitals in all districts on this side of the Pir
Panjal. There is a distinct lack of facilities all over.
Problems are endemic in the form of ill-equipped
arrangements, dysfunctional equipment and shortage of
necessary staff. The same is the plight of three
emergency hospitals on the Jammu-Srinagar national
highway at Batote, Ramban and Banihal. One can't be
faulted for thinking that their very existence is nothing
short of a revelation. Indeed, it is sickening to note
that at quite a few places there are not enough beds. As
a result the patients have to per force stretch out on
ground. The scenario in this behalf is worse in Poonch
hospital. More than nine months have passed after the
tremor had rocked it. No explanation can justify the
inordinate delay in carrying out repairs. In fact, the
total picture in Poonch is scary. X-ray machines are
literally in a mess. On record there are two of these
basic instruments so vital in any treatment and
operation. One has fallen victim to the quake. The other
has developed snags and is being used with much effort.
The operation theatre, outpatients department,
telemedicine room and offices of medical superintendent
and casualty medical officer continue to suffer from the
after-effects of the 8/11, 2005 blow dealt by the nature.
These are crumbling. Who will believe all this? Is this a
hospital or a death trap? Eighty per cent of it was
damaged last year. This frightening fact alone should
have moved the authorities to wake up and treat it on
priority. Not surprisingly, the advanced equipment
remains merely a distant dream. It seems that the
situation is somewhat better in the adjoining Rajouri
district. Again, however, the Rajouri hospital falls well
short of meeting expectations of ordinary citizens. It is
adequately staffed but is without CT scan, ventilators
and such other apparatus including orthopaedic gear. A
new 200-bedded building that is under construction may
take care of shortcomings the present half-a-century-old
crowded accommodation has.
Obviously we are in for
more shocks. Kathua district hospital has a comparatively
better location. It is in the plains. Moreover, it is at
the side of the national highway. Therefore, it should be
possible to keep a close watch on its maintenance. That
precisely is not being done. Wards are unfurnished.
Doctors are not deployed in requisite force to the extent
that there is none to look after blood bank. Indoor
services are poor. There are space constrains too. The
ongoing construction work is virtually unending. There is
a child and maternity hospital as well in Kathua. It
appears as if it has been opened without application of
mind. No attention has been paid in advance about
staffing and equipping it as it should be. X-ray gear is
conspicuous more by non-performance than actual use. The
Doda hospital is not an exception. It suffers from a
scarcity syndrome both in terms of employees and lodging.
Of all the district hospitals one in Udhampur is perhaps
the best placed. It is in reality experiencing a sort of
embarrassment of riches. It has an additional block of
100 beds that was raised about one and a half year ago.
But it is not being put to use. The reason is that there
is shortage of doctors as well as para-medical workers.
Emergency jobs are also affected as a consequence. Is
anybody listening?
With this background in
view it is hardly astonishing that every time there is a
major road accident or natural calamity anywhere in this
region the sufferers are referred and flown to Jammu
hospitals. This is more a routine rather than an
occasional occurrence. The hospitals on national highways
have been conceived and created under a specific scheme
with the objective of rendering swift assistance in the
event of traffic catastrophes in particular. Apparently
the existing capabilities are unable to stand up to their
assigned roles. Simply saying as has been officially done
in this instance that radical changes are afoot is not
going to serve any purpose. It is lip service. This is
one field in which the proof of the pudding is only in
the eating. Healthcare has to be genuinely accorded one
of the topmost priorities. It needs to be remembered that
an exercise has already begun to upgrade Jammu's
Government Medical College on the lines of the country's
prestigious All-India Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS) situated in New Delhi. A strong possibility is
that a separate superspecialty institution may be set up
at the outskirts of this city. For the proposed
establishment to be a centre of research and excellence
it is necessary that it is not burdened with the usual
hospital load. Experts have already sounded a warning in
this behalf. This is possible only if district hospitals
are sufficiently prepared to fully look after their
respective zones. Let there be no doubt about this in the
minds of planners.
Kill rumours
It is ironical that
correct information is always thin following a major
disturbance --- natural or otherwise. Rumours tend to
take over as a matter of routine. Mumbai serial blasts
are the latest example. Telephone calls and e-mails have
floated around without providing exact clue about the
identity of killers. During the earlier stages of
Srinagar's sex scandal tongues wagged throwing up saucy
but mostly unsubstantiated details. The carelessly thrown
utterances have resulted in wrong reports being
recklessly published and broadcast about the death of
national leaders. This has happened on more than one
occasion. The mystery has not been resolved till today
about the idols of Ganesha sipping milk as if they were
living beings. How did the word travel so fast from one
corner of the country to the other? The faithful, of
course, would attribute it to the miracle of the God. In
any case, such acts don't affect anyone. These are
restricted between devotees and their deity. Serious
problems arise when gossip is used as a tool to wreck
reputations. Unfounded information can also play havoc
with social and religious harmony. That is why it is
always better to nip rumours in the bud.
It takes two
to tango
Men, Matters, Memories
By M L
Kotru
It's time someone
reminded Gen Pervez Musharraf,
the military ruler of Pakistan,
that the bilateral peace process
is not a Kashmiri papier mache
doll to be gift wrapped and
handed over to him by whoever is
at the helm of affairs in New
Delhi. It's a two-way process
wherein the two parties have to
work hard and in good faith if
the desired results are to be
achieved. A man in uniform does
not have to be told that it takes
two to tango. Or, like he himself
told Indian journalists once
‘ek haath se tali nahin
bajti’
It wasn't that long
ago that then Prime Minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee and Gen Musharraf
agreed on January 6, 2004 to a
framework which was to guide
bilateral endeavours to arrive at
an agreement including, most
significantly, on Jammu and
Kashmir. India did it at great
sacrifice, turning its back on
the Shimla accord of 1972 between
Mrs Indira Gandhi and Zulfiqar
Ali Bhutto. It agreed to
negotiate purposefully on Kashmir
and in return Pakistan agreed to
put an end to cross border
terrorism. What followed was
really impressive and most of the
credit for it goes to the Indians
who preserved with the idea of
opening up the Line of Control,
allowing buses etc to travel in
either direction at several
points and also across the border
at some other points.
India consciously
chose to forget the series of
horrendous terrorist attacks, not
just in Jammu and Kashmir but
right here in the heart of New
Delhi with that brazen attack of
Parliament House, while keeping
its commitment to go ahead with
the peace process.
So, when Pakistani
Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood
Kasuri pooh poohs the dastardly
attacks on railway coaches packed
with ordinary commuters, killing
over ten score men, women and
children and injuring over 750
others or the attacks on tourist
buses in Srinagar and Gulmarg
killing eight tourists and
injuring scores others including
innocent Kashmiri civilians what
are we to make of it. Kasuri
rather blandly sought to
establish a linkage between the
non-resolution of the Kashmir
issue and the senseless bombings
in Bombay and Kashmir. Only a
twisted mind could come up with
such a horrifying explanation. It
did not surprise me after the
Kasuri reading of the bombings
that India put the brakes for the
present on the Foreign Secretary
level talks which were set to be
held around this time.
Kasuri, forget his
afterthoughts, could not have
reacted to the Bombay and Kashmir
blasts without an okay from his
military boss. Is the beleagured
Musharraf, domestically and on
the western border with
Afganistan, hoping to use
cross-border terrorism as a kind
of leverage to get a move on in
Kashmir in terms of additional
concessions ? If that indeed be
the case it is time for Musharraf
to consider the possibility of
the Manmohan Singh Government
saying enough is enough.
To list the
concessions that New Delhi has
made in pursuit of the objective
of building up a good
relationship with Pakistan would
need much more space than this
column permits. But the General
would do well to remember that
his position as his country's
leader, and one who probably
pines to take the credit for
having resolved the old dispute
over Kashmir, it is not easy to
have the cake and eat it too. The
two sides have discussed many
possibilities concerning Kashmir
some of these have been on the
table. Unfortunately, Musharraf
has made it a habit to offer
dime-a-dozen solutions on a
weekly if not a daily basis.
I am not the one
saying it but several Pakistan
journalists and foreign based
Pakistani researchers have
probably hit the nail on the head
by suggesting that Musharraf is
no longer in control of the
terror outfits. Officially and
under US pressure he may have
banned some of the known terror
outfits but he knows it as well
as the rest of the world that all
the so-called banned outfits are
flourishing under new colours. So
far as Hizbul Mujahideen is
concerned the Pakistani rulers
would have one believe that it is
indigenous to the valley but will
someone explain what Salahuddin,
the Hizbul chief and chairman of
the Jihadi Council, was exactly
doing at a rally in Peshawar
where he shared the dais with all
the top leaders of the renamed
terrorist outfits. Let's consider
the following to see how far
Musharraf is serious in curbing
the terrorist outfits in his
country.
First there was
Markazud Dawa-al-irshad, situated
on a 35-acre expanse on the
outskirts of Lahore, land
bestowed on it by the Government
of Pakistan before Musharraf
appeared on the scene. Came 9/11
and Musharraf was compelled by
George Bush to ban the
organisation which among other
things produced highly motivated
youngmen well trained in the art
of guerilla warfare. The ban was
imposed on the armed wing working
under the title Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Lashkar resurfaced as Jamaatul
Dawa. Around the same time
Musharraf banned five other
Jihadi and sectarian groups
announcing in his typical
commando style that thereafter no
militant and sectarian group
would be allowed to indulge in
acts of terrorism. These included
Jaish-e-Mohammad,
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Hizbul
Mujahideen. Needless to say all
of them are back in business
albeit bearing new nomenclatures.
Jaish-e-Mohammad became Khudamul
Islam, Harkatul Mujahideen became
Jamiatul Ansar. All have
websites, all are secruting
volunteers and collecting funds.
Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, Maulana
Masood Azhar, Maulana Fazlur
Rahman and Syed Salahuddin have a
free run of the country preaching
their gospel of hate.
Pakistani as well as
several western observers believe
that Musharraf is helpless in
beating the challenge thrown to
him by the Islamists. To keep the
politicians at bay, which is one
of his avowed objectives, he has
continued to rely on the rump
Muslim League and Islamist
parties which are the main
opposition in the National
Assembly. To add to his woes the
Lashkar men, under their new
assumed nomenclature, were among
most active in offering relief
and succour to the victims of the
massive earthquake that hit
Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Their
presence was so enormous that it
unnerved the Americans engaged in
relief work to seek the removal
of their provoactive banners at
compsites and elsewhere in the
devastated area. Lashkar may have
been banned both by the US and
Musharraf but its offshoot
Jamaatul Dawa in merely kept
under observation by the Pakistan
Government even as the Americans
have banned it. Musharraf as
ground realities in Jammu and
Kashmir reveal may have kept the
option of using the Jihadi
outfits at will to keep terror in
the valley alive.
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British
Asians ‘desis’
or what
By
Atul Cowshish
A
Government-aided survey
in Britain says that
British Indians do not
want to be known by the
omnibus moniker of
‘Asians’,
preferring one of the
three options: British
Indians, Hindus, or
simply ‘desis’
which designates their
Indian origin. After all,
the Chinese in Britain,
also part of the Asian
community, are generally
called Chinese. In both
Britain and India,
opinion seems to be
divided whether it is
good for the Indians
living in the UK to
de-link themselves from
other ‘Asians’.
But it is almost certain
that the Indians in
Britain would not have
resented the label
‘Asian’ if they
did not have to share the
opprobrium from the white
British directed towards
the
‘troublesome’
section of the
‘brown’ Asians,
especially after
terrorist attacks in the
US and the UK.
It
is no secret that certain
‘brown’ Asians
in Britain, the
Pakistanis and
Bangladeshis, have a
large segment of
extremists and frequently
protest loudly and
violently over real and
imaginary grievances. On
the other hand, the
Indians as a community
are known to be generally
a peaceful lot who rarely
create trouble in the
country, unlike the
people from India’s
eastern and western
neighbourhood. But the
ordinary whites in
Britain club all
brown-skinned people as
‘Asians’ and do
not care to know if some
of them are
‘good’.
When
angry, a white British
chooses the term
‘Paki’ for the
brown ‘Asian’.
‘Paki’ has been
a derogatory term in
circulation for 40 years,
when Bangladesh was part
of Pakistan. But then
‘Paki’ is a
four-letter word. It
would appear that the
white British had somehow
formed a different
opinion about the
Pakistani immigrants and
associated them with acts
of violence over four
decades ago. Had these
‘troublesome’
folks been Indians or
from any other parts, the
word ‘Paki’
would probably not have
been coined and become a
four-letter word!
A
leading Hindu
organisation in the UK
had a major role in
facilitating the survey
on British Indians,
arranging contacts with
800 British Hindus
physically and getting
many more on line.
Considering that the
‘Indian’
population in Britain is
generally estimated to be
at least 600,000 some
people will doubt if the
survey truly reflects the
opinion of the majority
of ‘Indians’ or
Hindus in Britain.
That,
however, does not take
away the fact that the
Hindus in Britain do have
at least some legitimate
grievances which need to
be addressed by Her
Majesty’s
government. More over,
the scholarly Lord Bhikhu
Parekh had a key role in
writing the report and,
therefore, its
conclusions cannot be
taken lightly.
Some
of the findings of the
survey, called Connecting
British Hindus,
contradict the general
image of the Indian
immigrants in Britain-one
of a well integrated,
fairly prosperous and
progressive community.
The survey, however, says
that the Hindu community
in Britain feels
‘marginalised,
misunderstood and
neglected’, and that
they are generally kept
out of most racial
contact programmes of the
government.
The
Hindus also feel
aggrieved because their
religious, social and
cultural sensitivities
are not respected as much
as those of the
Christians, Muslims and
Jews. As proof, it has
been mentioned that
government hospitals in
the UK cater to
‘halal’ meat
for Muslims and
‘kosher’ meat
for the Jews but pay no
heed to the special Hindu
diets-vegetarian and
without onion and garlic
etc.
The
British government has
ignored the demand for
Hindu crematoria in the
island. This prevents the
Hindu families from
performing the full rites
and rituals at the time
of the cremation of their
dead as delineated in
their religion. The Hindu
in Britain has to share
his last resting place
with those of the other
faith. Perhaps, it is the
ultimate testimony to the
famous (infamous?) Hindu
tolerance!
Whenever
‘minority’
religious group leaders
are called for a racial
dialogue they would come
from the Muslim and the
Jewish communities. This,
despite the fact that the
Hindus outnumber the Jews
in Britain.
‘Multi-religious’
gatherings and dialogues
are becoming frequent in
Britain as the country
struggles to win the
‘hearts and
minds’ of the
Muslims. Presumably,
other religious groups
have neither the
‘heart’ nor the
‘mind’. Maybe,
the Hindus are not
represented at such
gatherings because they
do not take to streets to
demand recognition and
redress of their
‘grievances’.
It would also appear that
officials in Britain do
not care much about the
Hindu (and perhaps also
the Buddhist) religion.
The more understanding
officials may be aware of
‘exotic’
rituals they think the
Hindus and the Buddhists
follow on certain
occasions but do not
reckon that they actually
follow two different and
ancient religions, each
with a following of about
a billion.
The
Hindus in Britain have
for long been content to
be the followers of a
‘silent’
religion. They have
acquiesced in the fact
that they will remain
politically
‘invisible’ as
a result of which they
are under-represented in
the British
parliament-two Hindu
members in the lower
House which has nearly
600 members. But with
other communities from
the sub-continent
becoming more and more
assertive and louder,
probably the younger lot
among the British Hindus
feels the need to
establish an identity
separate from the other
communities, if only to
register presence on the
political map.
To
pursue that goal certain
things have to be kept in
mind. If the majority of
Hindus in India find it
perfectly alright to be
known as Indians, rather
than by their religion,
why should the Hindus in
Britain seek a communal
tag? But can
‘British
Indians’ be an
acceptable choice? Well,
that too may create
problems in Britain where
a lot of people of Indian
origin actually arrived
from other lands such as
Africa (Kenya and Uganda
in particular), the
Caribbean islands
(Trinidad and Guyana),
Fiji, Mauritius and even
smaller neighbours like
Sri Lanka and Nepal.
Can
they all be correctly
called ‘British
Indians’? Or, should
they be called Caribbean
Hindus, African Hindus
etc? What about their
opinion? The people of
Indian origin in the
Caribbean islands have
been out of contact with
the ‘mother’
country for generations
and as far as knows many
of the rigid and orthodox
ways of the present-day
Hindus are unknown to
them.
The
choice a nomenclature to
distinguish their
identity from other
‘browns’ will
have to be made by the
Indians in Britain very
carefully, making sure
that it does not become a
tool for creating
divisions in their
community. In any case,
the term ‘British
Hindus’ cannot be
applied to all those who
trace their origin to
this country. There are
Muslims, Sikhs and
Parsis, among others, who
have gone to Britain
before and after India
became independent.
Secular India respects
each of these communities
equally. There is no
reason why the Hindus in
Britain should not show
the same sentiments for
their fellow citizens of
other religions who
migrated from Mother
India. In any case, a
debate on a different
label for Indians in
Britain should not lead
to sowing seeds of
divisions in the
diaspora. (Syndicate
Features)
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A Voyage to Sri
Harikota
By H R
Sudhindra
The road to Sriharikota
(SHAR), across Pulicat lake takes us to
the launch pad of Indian Space
technology. It transports us from a
familiar world to a world familiar with
rockets and satellites. It drives us into
the mesmeric island of launch pads,
vehicle assembly buildings, space vehicle
testing centres and Mission Control
Centre. The Satish Dhawan Space Centre
(SDSC) located at Sriharikota, a spindle
shaped island on the east coast of Andhra
Pradesh is the Satellite launch station
of India. SHAR is getting spruced up for
the launch of INSAT-4C.
This island surrounded by
Pulicat Lake and Bay of Bengal was chosen
in 1969 for setting up a satellite launch
station, for its advantages like nearness
to the equator and large uninhabited area
as safety zone. The island covers an area
of 175 sq.km with a coastline of 50 kms.
Situated off Sullurpeta- a small town in
Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, it is
20 minutes drive from the National
Highway connecting Chennai and Kolkatta.
It is about 80 Km north of Chennai. The
first flight test of Rohini-125, a small
sounding rocket took place from here on
October 9, 1971. Since then the
facilities here have been expanded to
meet the growing needs of Indian Space
Programme.
The tour of the facilities
in SHAR is no doubt memorable, momentous
and monumental. An experience worth a
lifetime. 70 meter tall Launch tower, 83
meter tall Vehicle Assembly Building, 16
wheeled bogie to tow the Mobile Launch
Pedestal (loaded with fully assembled
satellite launch Vehicle), 120 meter tall
lightening Protection Towers, 12 meter
wide and 11.5 meter deep jet deflector
wedge and 34 PCs and giant monitors of
Mission Control Center are some of the
unique landmarks in SHAR.
Facilities and Activities
SHAR has the infrastructure
for launching satellites into low earth
orbit, polar orbit and geo-stationary
transfer orbit. The launch complexes
provide support for vehicle assembly,
fuelling, checkout and launch operations.
It also has facilities for launching
sounding rockets meant for studying the
earth's atmosphere. The individual stages
of launch vehicles PSLV and GSLV, their
subsystems and the spacecraft are checked
out in separate facilities before being
sent to launch pad for integration. The
Propellant Production Plant has a
capacity to process rocket motors up to
2.8 m diameter. There are facilities for
conducting vibration, shock, acceleration
and thermal/humidity tests.
The Mission Control Centre,
situated about 6 kms away from the launch
complex, coordinates and conducts the
satellite launch operations during the
countdown phase, till the injection of
the satellite into orbit. Thereafter the
control is taken over by the Master
Control facility in Hassan, Karnataka or
the ISRO telemetry tracking and command
network at Bangalore depending upon
whether the satellite is for
communication or remote sensing purpose.
The strategic locations in SHAR have CCTV
coverage. For facilitating voice
communication intercom network is
provided. Apart from the operational,
maintenance and project activities, SHAR
pursues R&D in various disciplines,
such as structural engineering,
electronics and computer software. Some
of the technology developments in the
Centre have been transferred to the
industries for commercialization.
Satellite Launch Vehicles
India has designed and
operationalised two types of satellite
launch vehicles- Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle(PSLV) to launch Indian Remote
Sensing Satellites(IRS) and
Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
(GSLV) to launch INSAT family of
satellites. PSLV has four stages and can
place 1600 kg satellite in polar orbit.
The polar orbits are at low altitude in
the range of 600 to 1000 km to enable
precise observation of the earth. These
orbits are called sun-synchronous orbits
as they enable the satellites to pass
over a given region at the same local
time. This helps the satellites to take
photographs under constant sun-light
conditions. PSLV can place satellites in
Geosynchronous Transfer orbit and low
earth orbits. India has the world's
largest constellation of remote sensing
satellites. India's first mission to the
moon, Chandrayaan I planned in 2008 will
be launched by PSLV.
GSLV can launch 2000 kg
satellite into Geosynchronous Transfer
orbit. Thereafter the spacecraft is moved
to Geo-synchronous orbit at 36,000 kms
height. It is a three stage vehicle. The
third stage has a cryogenic engine. The
engine uses liquid hydrogen as fuel and
liquid oxygen as the oxidizer.
India is developing a new
launch vehicle named GSLV-mark III,
capable of launching up to 4 tonnes
payload into geo-synchronous transfer
orbit. For supporting Mark III programme
a number of new facilities are being set
up at SDSC SHAR. The upgraded facility
will allow 4 launches per year. GSLV mark
III will have a lift off of about 629
tonne and will be 42.4 m tall. ISRO added
a new dimension to its activities by
starting the Space capsule Recovery
Experiment (SRE) programme, aimed at
recovering the payload safely to earth.
Recoverable Capsule technology is
significant because it cuts costs, since
the recovered systems can be reused. A
few airdrop and recovery tests under the
programme have been conducted
successfully at SDSC SHAR.
Today Indian Space System
forms an important element of the
national infrastructure. Vital services
like telecommunication, television
broadcasting, meteorology, disaster
warning, telemedicine, natural resources
survey and management, teleeducation,
search and rescue operation are
unthinkable without space technology
intervention. The space technology has
placed India in high regard among the
comity of nations. In this, the role of
SDSC SHAR is unique and invaluable.
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